Spiritual tourism UP: From the crowded streets of Tokyo to the peaceful Ganga riverbanks, through the Zen gardens of Kyoto or the yoga ashrams of Rishikesh, spirituality permeates every aspect of life in Japan and India. Pilgrimages, rituals and temples are the elements that connect Indian and Japanese culture alike. Both cultures have a deeply ingrained spirituality that has shaped their values and beliefs.
Even though the two countries are geographically and culturally distinct, their core principles are strikingly similar. Central to both Indian and Japanese spiritual practices are the search for enlightenment and harmony with nature. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shintoism have all made substantial contributions to the development of cultural and societal identities in both nations.
PM Modi had coined India and Japan as “natural partners.” This relationship is built on intimacy, spirituality, cooperation, and belonging. Now, the Yogi government has decided to utilise the expertise and spiritual understanding of Japanese companies to rejuvenate holy cities within the state.
Holy Indian Cities Get Japanese Hospitality Boost
Have you had the privilege of experiencing the creative masterpiece that is the Japanese animated film, “Ramayana – The Legend of Prince Rama” (Ramayana – Rama Ouji Densetsu)? It was a cinematic marvel that harmoniously blended Japan’s renowned animation expertise and the timeless, sacred Hindu epic, Ramayana.
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The enchanting melodies like the iconic ‘Janaani Main Ramdoot Hanuman‘, elevated the already captivating storyline. The creators masterfully embellished it and justifiably captured the spiritual significance of the Hindu epic.
Now it seems that Japanese expertise is all set to adorn the sacred cities like Kashi, Mathura and Ram ki Nagri Ayodhya. Just like the animated film on the Hindu epic, a Japanese company will enrich the spiritual experience of tourists coming to these holy cities for pilgrimage.
Reportedly, Japanese hotelier chain Hotel Management International Company Limited (HMI Group) has decided to infuse more than $87 million dollars to enhance the majestic outlook of these sacrosanct cities.
Recently, the Yogi Adityanath government successfully conducted a three-day Uttar Pradesh Global Investors’ Summit (GIS)-2023 in Lucknow. During the global summit, the state government signed several MoUs to draw unprecedented investment within the state.
Notably, there was a dedicated session which was titled as “Implementation of Special Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India in Uttar Pradesh”. In this session, the Japanese hotelier chain HMI group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth ₹7,200 crore with the Uttar Pradesh government.
Under this MoU, HMI group plans to expand its chain of luxurious hotels in 30 major cities in Uttar Pradesh, including Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi. The official statement released by the state government highlighted the contribution of Japan in opening up luxurious hotels in 30 cities of the state.
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The release said, “The representatives of Japan in GIS also praised the changed atmosphere of UP. Investors signed MoU for the investment of Rs 7200 crores. At the summit, the Japanese company Hotel Management International Company Limited (HMI Group) decided to open hotels in 30 cities including Agra, Ayodhya, and Varanasi.”
A top executive of HMI Group, Takamoto Yokoyama lauded industrial policies started by the Yogi Adityanath government. He also emphasised that the development of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor will lead to a significant increase in tourist inflow to the city.
Mr Yokoyama announced that with this Japanese project in the state, there would be 10,000 direct job opportunities for the state residents. The special session comparatively analysed the strategic, economic, political and cultural relations between India and Japan. For this purpose the timeline was divided in periods from 2000 to 2014 and from 2014 to 2022.
According to reports, U.P. exported items to Japan worth $122 million in 2021, an increase of roughly 86% over the previous year. In addition to the Japanese investment in enhancing the majestic outlook of these cities, the global investor summit also underscored the tourism push undertaken by CM Yogi Adityanath.
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Yogi Government’s Spiritual Vision Boosts Tourism
Keeping in line with the vision of a $5 trillion dollar economy envisioned by PM Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has set the benchmark of catapulting the state economy to $ 1 trillion mark. To achieve this ambitious target, CM Yogi has been revamping the image of the state from a lawless one to an investment friendly state. However, this development is not just in terms of skyscrapers, material resources but also keeping the spiritual and cultural identity at the centre stage.
Spiritual and cultural tourism is a major part of this development push by the UP government. This aggressive push is paying dividends in the form of increased footfall in the state. The state government gave official figures of tourist arrival in the state. It also highlighted the efforts made by the government to boost tourism and the hospitality sector within the state.
The official government statement read, “In 2022, the state witnessed the arrival of 24.87 crore tourists to Uttar Pradesh, of which the number of foreigners was 4.10 lakh. Owing to the sustained efforts of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the tourism and hospitality sectors also garnered immense attention from the investors in the Global Investors Summit held recently in the state capital”.
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UP: Massive Investment in hospitality and spiritual tourism
In addition to the massive investment made by the Japanese Hotelier chain HMI group, the hospitality and tourism sector drew investors in large numbers.
The official statement gave details of investment proposals received and claimed that this will provide direct employment opportunities for more than 1.45 lakh citizens. The statement read, “Both sectors received investment proposals of Rs 98193 crores and Rs 20722 crores, respectively. In the coming years, about 1.45 lakh employment opportunities will be created from both sectors.”
The statement also bifurcated the proposals received in both these sectors along with the areas that will get the benefit out of these investment proposals.
It read, “The UP government received 397 proposals in the tourism sector including in the top 20 sectors. There is a possibility of investment of Rs 98193 crore through this. This will provide more than 2.60 lakh jobs. Around 437 proposals were received in the hospitality sector. With this, about one lakh youth in Paschimanchal, Purvanchal, Madhyanchal and Bundelkhand will get employment.”
The state government also announced that the Bhavya Mandir of Maryada Purushottam Shriram will be completed by January 2024. This will drastically boost tourism in the state. It is important to note that more than two crore tourists visited Ayodhya in just the first six months of 2022.
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Uniqueness of Japanese investment in India
The Rudraksha International convention centre in Varanasi is the prime example that makes Japanese investment stand apart from other FDI or investment proposals. With the roof shaped like Shiva Linga, the convention centre has 108 Rudrakshas installed in it.
Over the years, India has become an investment hub for foreign investors be it Saudis or UAE. Plenty of these investments have given a philip to infrastructure in the country. But barring Japanese companies, there is hardly any nation which can capture the spiritual connect of a structure or entire city. With the past stellar example of Japanese animated Ramayana, there is great hope that Japan’s investment will help materialise the dream of the UP government to rejuvenate our culture and spiritual tourism centres.
Whether it is the Japanese animated film Ramayana or this massive investment to revamp the religiously and culturally significant cities like Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura, Japan has been time and again dispelling its special affection and reverence to Hindu Gods.
Additionally, With Ganga facing luxurious and spiritually entrenched aesthetical beautiful hotels hosting global conferences, the UP government can bolster the image of the state. With infrastructure of global power, the state government can rebrand UP as the cultural capital all around the world and attract cultural and spiritual tourism.
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